


begin again

by lamentum



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Alternate Ending, Crying, Gender-Neutral Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Hurt/Comfort, Lesson 20 (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) Spoilers, Multi, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23137633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lamentum/pseuds/lamentum
Summary: Would it be right, to leave them after all you had been through?Would it be worth it?
Relationships: Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Everyone
Comments: 7
Kudos: 119





	begin again

It wasn’t that you had forgotten you had to leave at some point; it was more like coping by suppression. Pretending the problem that gnawed at you didn’t exist for so long that it felt as though it truly faded from existence. 

And as you made your last walk through the halls, trailing behind the brothers that were wrangling their emotions down their throats in knowing that as hard as it may be for them, it was infinitely harder for you (as though that didn’t allow them to feel just how much it _hurt_ ), you pondered how much longer you could stick around if you latched onto a doorway and refused to let go. 

Would it hurt any less if you were given even one more second?

Your farewells to your fellow exchange students were numb, happily nodding along at the idea of reuniting with Solomon on the surface and greeting Simeon and Luke again only in death, but it was odd, the way the idea of being bound to the celestial realm, of an existence of purity and light, felt so wrong in the wake of the pleasantness the dark had brought to you. Something to be brooded over at a later time, you supposed, with all the misery already eating at you. 

And then it was your turn. And while you’d already given your farewells, a kiss for each damned soul, it was watching them be faced with what felt like your exile that hurt so much worse. You turned your back, as though it would help avert the burn of their stares seeping through your bones, having you grasping at the straps of your bag so tightly your knuckles turned white, until finally, that spark of rebellion lit itself in your belly. 

And you spun back around, abandoning complacency. 

“I’m not leaving,” you declared suddenly as you faced Diavolo, a stern glare painted in your eyes. Your bag, enchanted to fit all the belongings you’d accumulated over the last year (skin care from Asmo, manga from Levi, books and trinkets and a heart full of love and longing that ached so painfully at the idea of a goodbye), was slung off your shoulder and tossed to the ground, crossing your arms defiantly over your chest. 

Lucifer called out your name, a warning, reminding you of the ever present threat of the demon that looked over you, not merely a classmate that sneered as you trekked through the halls, but the Lord of Devildom; the one who had brought you here. The one that could snap your spine between two fingers. Yet his gaze betrayed him, with a sadness weighing his mind, not quite as apparent as it looked on his brothers, but still; a storm was raging in him. 

“It’s not fair,” you pressed on, staring up at Diavolo as though fear didn’t clutch your heart at the sight of his unreadable expression, knees threatening to buckle. He would not hurt you over childish disobedience, that much you knew— you didn’t fear pain, but forcing his hand. Leaving the boys you’d come to love so much with the memory of you kicking and screaming was a cruelty you didn’t not revel the idea of. “I’ve been here for a whole year, I haven’t just made memories, I made a _family,”_ you insisted. “And it’s not _fair,_ that now I have to go back to a world I didn’t particularly care for in the first place after- after everything! After all this... this happiness I didn’t know I could even be capable of feeling.” You clutched weakly at your chest, urging the ever present heartache to subside, at least for now, and allow determination to the forefront. “I can’t just go back to that life and act like everything is okay, or like anyone in my world ever cared about me as much as they do.” You jutted a finger towards the brothers, brows knitted together as you glared up at Diavolo, his eyes still holding you in a blank stare; an assessment. “I... I don’t mean to undermine you, or speak out of turn.” You quickly remedied your tone as regret churned in your gut. “But I don’t want to leave the people I love.”

There was a stillness in the air, a mixture of shock and awe resonating through your makeshift family while Diavolo still regarded you calculatingly, as if his mind lamented back and forth between prize or punishment for your outburst. 

“Aw... damn,” unsurprisingly, Mammon was the first to break the silence, sniffling pitifully and hiding his tears behind his forearm. “Why’d ya have to go and say all that now, huh?” He mumbled. 

“Listen, you- you don’t have to worry about us,” Levi insisted a bit quietly, conflicted by the turn of events. “We’ll be just fine, we can come see you whenever you summon us, no matter what.” He was trying to comfort you, you realized, in this odd turn of reasoning from the Avatar of Envy. “We’ll be fine, so-“

“You understand what you’re asking, right?” Diavolo’s calm voice broke through the mild panic in the air, though it still hung in an eerie show of the uncharted territory you had unknowingly stumbled into in questioning his authority. _Belphegor would know a thing or two about that._

“Huh?” You vocalized, blinking up Diavolo’s towering form. 

“If you don’t leave now, then I’m afraid you won’t be given much of a choice later on,” he supplied, arms crossed comfortably over his chest, no malice tensed in his shoulders. “This is not a small issue; I can’t allow you to jump back and forth as you please, or get into one too many arguments and suddenly decide the human world is a true home for you. Of course, there will be no problem with the occasional conjugal visit, but...” His voice strayed, warningly. “Staying in Devildom wouldn’t just be for now, it would be forever. Your life, though it may seem like a blink to us, it is your _only_ eternity, and it would be lived out here.” Despite the doubt he was attempting to instill, the creeping fear of a possible twist in the timeline that would only serve to make you grieve the possibly happy, normal human life you were giving up, as his words progressed with a thinly veiled concern for you, your heart only soared at the possibility, the _if, maybe, now,_ that turned into a quickly blooming hope. 

Could this really be possible?

Could you stay?

“I understand.” You breathed out, whispered; probably impossible for the human ear to discern. 

But you were the only human here. 

“And?” He encouraged. 

“And I want to stay.” Your voice cracked, a pathetic want, so primal and baseless and choked out under the pressure of a whirlwind of hope and prayer, as the infinite pockets of happiness that had flooded your heart over the year flashed by like cutscenes, as though being sentenced to their end was the same as being laid out on your deathbed. “I want to stay.” You insisted further, even as your voice shook and hands trembled, as tears blurred your vision and knees buckled together. 

_Please._

“Okay.” 

And it was slow, processing the wish he had granted; a kindness not expected in a demon’s nature. And he smiled, gently, to offer some comfort, as if he never intended to send you away in the first place. 

As if he had made up his mind the moment you asked. 

And you turned to them, the family you had made, as your eyes slowly widened and your body shifted onto the balls of your feet, tilting your chin up ever so slightly as if it would stop the tears from spilling over, and you could barely choke out a relieved sob before they were rushing you, gathered tightly in Mammon’s arms with Beelzebub following just after to wrap his looming figure around both your shorter statures as he sniffled quietly, a contrast to Mammon’s loud scolding for your _dumb, stupid, fragile human waiting until the very last second to-_

A gentle call of your name- something like snow stilling time in quiet mornings, and you had to fight to free your face from Mammon’s chest to look over, seeing the others still hovering you, close, protective; Satan’s relieved smile, Leviathan’s choked whimpers, Asmodeus’ careful dabbing at his tears, and Belphegor’s exhausted relief painted across his features. 

And Lucifer, for once, at the forefront, instead of shying away from all the words he wanted to share with you, reaching out to brush your hair away from your face with a care you didn’t know him to possess. 

And he smiled, kindly, as a pleasant warmth bloomed in his chest. 

“Welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> edit: this fic was written when the game was only updated to lesson 20! in a fit of rage at the mc just. up and leaving. we've since gotten more chapters and i've calmed considerably ty
> 
> love the idea of mc lowkey being a brat and giving Diavolo the big middle finger and saying no sir i am staying here with my 7 boyfriends thank you
> 
> anyways. i just barely proofread this so please let me know if there's any typos TT
> 
> thank you for reading! <3


End file.
